II, M' ^ 






i-sa 







1 1886 



mmfppn 



BY 

M. E. W. / 



I]L.3L.XJSTK,.A.TEID. 



PHILADELPHIA: ^J^I^T-^ 

BRADLEY & COMPANY, Q^^ 

66 North Fourth Street. 



Like airy whirls of thistledown, 
That summon up before the sight 

Of close-kept toilers in the town 

Green fields beflowered with delight. 
Go, little rhymes; and let your flight 

Hint at sweet-scented winds that blow 
Over the meads in summer-tide, 

And at the posy songs that grow 

On prouder pages, all aglow 

With purple pomp, and scarlet pride I 



THISTLEDOWN. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

La Crepuscule .T. 9 

Onne my Trewe Love — Her Naughtie Waie 11 

MisTRESSE Peg— Her Crueltie 12 

AuVoleur! AuVoleur! 16 

Contre-Temps 18 

In April 22 

Betty 24 

My Lady's Page 26 

Onne YE Hill-Toppe 30 

O Bonny Bee 3^ 

O Sweet South Wind zi 

Comment Choisir 34 

At Sea 37 

Maid Phillis 39 

A Rondo of ye Hie Wynde 43 

V^ ViCTis 45 

Ballade of Miladi 46 

To Betty 5^ 

Serenade 53 

Rondeaux 55 

5 



THISTLEDO^WN, 



THISTLEDOWN. 



LA CREPUSCULE. 

THE twilight deepened into gloom, 
A slender moon slipped up the sky, 
And through the purpling lilac bloom 
Peered down into the silent room 
Where we two loitered — she and I. 

Lightly the breeze stole in and stirred 
The red-gold tangles of her hair, 

And in the distant copse we heard 

The cry of some belated bird 
Blown softly out upon the air. 



THISTLEDOWN . 

A spell was on us, strange and sweet — 

Too sweet for words, too strange for tears; 
Our tender glances dared not meet, 
For in our hearts there throbbed and beat 
A hundred hopes — a thousand fears. 

And so we sat, apart, alone, 

With cheeks that burned, we knew not why. 
Nor guessed that as the hour crept on 
A flash of wings had come and gone. 

And Love himself had passed us by. 



10 



THISTLEDOWN. 

ONNE MY TREWE LOYE-HER NAUGHTIE WAIE. 

(After Herriek.) 

MY Love has Lippes of Redde Delight, 
Where Thrifty Bees doe Sippe & Taste 
To Sweet Excess, lest She Sholde Lette 
Soe much Rare Honey goe to Waste. 

Yett whenne I fain wolde Steal A Kisse, 
She Puttes me off & Runnes Awaie, 

& now & Thenne, ye Pretty Rogue ! 

Lookes Backe to Mocke atte my Dismaie. 



Jl 



THISTLED O WN. 



MISTRESSE PEG-HER CRUELTIE. 

(After Herriek.) 

WHENNE Mistresse Peggy Walkes Abroade 
Toe Shew her Brave Attyre, 
She Setts her Image inne ye Hearte 

Of Any yt male Spye Her, 
& Hastening Gallants Bow & Begge 

Yt She will Chuse A Squire, 
Till Envious Maides Putt onne Disdayne 
& Push a-Poutinge by Her. 

Butt Mistresse Peg Trippes onne Her Waie 

Wth everie Ribbon Flyinge, 
& will have None of Fop or Beau 

For alle Theyre Prayers & Sighinge. 
12 



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A =4 ^ i/'\ 




THISTLEDOWN, 



Alack, yt She Sholde Be Soe Colde 
(Ye Gallants Joyne inne Cryinge), 

Toe Toss Her Head atte everie Swaine 
& Give Him harsh Denyinge ! 



15 



THISTLEDOWN. 



AUVOIEUR! AU VOLET] R! 

BOY Cupid furled his dainty wings, 
And spent with wanton glee 
He laid him down to doze and dream 
Beneath the greenwood tree. 

Miss Julia, singing as she went, 
Passed by that way and spied 

The rosy traitor fast asleep, 
His idle bow beside. 

With mischief twinkling in her eye. 
She bent her down and kissed 

His lips and left a posy in 
His pink and dimpled fist, 
16 



THISTLED O WN. 

Then tripped away ; but first she took 

The pretty gilded toy 
That makes such mischief in the hands 

Of Venus' roguish boy. 

Now Love bereft bewails his loss 
The wide green world around, 

While Julia laughs and well employs 
Her ill-got power to wound. 



17 



THISTLE D O WN. 



CONTRE-TEMPS. 

A RUFFLED gallant, trim and trig, 
With silver buckles on his shoon, 
Went idly down the dusty road. 

And trolled, the while, a lover's tune. 

Sweet Mistress Peg, across the way, 

Sat at her lattice peeping thro', 
And in her silly heart made sure 

She saw a suitor come to woo. 

So up she rose and decked her out 

All in her crimson padesoy. 
And on her dainty dimpled chin 

Set straight the patch and laughed for joy. 
18 



THISTLED O WN. 

Yet when she looked a second time, 
Alack, she si^^hed and looked no more, 

But railed at Fate and overturned 
Her tambour frame upon the floor, 

For In the grassy mead beyond, 
Behold, the faithless cavalier 

Made merry with the miller s maid 
And whispered secrets In her ear. 



THISTLEDOWN. 



IN APRIL. 



OTHE day was dark and the day was cold, 
And the day was dull and dreary, 
And the wind swept down from the withered wold, 
And the springtime lurked in the dingy mould 

Till the world and I were weary ; 
And I wandered to and I wandered fro, 

And I wandered into the meadow, 
Till I stood where the early violets grow 
Till a step came up from the path below. 
And he told me — my life broke into glow. 

And the chill fled and the shadow ! 

O the breezes came and the breezes went, 
And merrily danced beside us, 

22 



THISTLEDOWN. 

Around and about us the blue sky bent, 
And the sunshine laughed as if it meant 

To kiss since it could not chide us. 
And the birds sang here and the birds sang there, 

And the birds sang all together. 
For the bliss that was mine spread everywhere. 
And the world grew green and the world grew fair. 
And the breath of blossoms hung in the air. 

And lo ! it was April weather! 



THISTLEDO WN. 



BETTY. 

BETTY'S the veriest coquette 
That since the days of Circe 
Has made a trade of breaking hearts 

And steeled her own to mercy; 
For when I wooed her last July 

With hot, impassioned phrases, 
She laughed a saucy " No ! " and fell 
To pelting me with daisies. 

To-day she promised to be mine, 
And owned with pretty smiling 

To all the snares her art had laid 
For me and my beguiling. 



24 



THISTLE D O WN, 



And — Cupid, what think you of this ?- 
She vows her former flouting 

Was but a trick to prove me true, 
And end her woman's doubting 1 



25 



THISTLEDOWN, 

MY LADY'S PAGE. 

(Rondeau.) 

MY Lady's page hath purple eyes 
Wherein a drowsy passion Hes, 
And lips whose sweetness doth eclipse 
Such honey-dew as Cupid sips 
From chalice-buds In Paradise. 

Lightly among her train he trips, 
And blown from pinky finger-tips, 
Her kiss proclaims him where it flies 
My Lady's page. 



26 



THISTLED O WN, 

Some sprite hath taught him that he sHps 
Into her heart and therefrom strips 

The hoarded sweets with bold emprise. 

What wonder then that great and wise 
Do envy where he sings and skips — 
My Lady's page. 



29 



THISTLE D O WN. 



ONNE YE HILL-TOPPE. 

I ^ After Herrick. 

JT^WAS onne ye Toppe of Harley Hill, 

JL & I, yt Begged A Posy, 
From my Trewe Love, Looked uppe & Spyed 

Ye Dimpled Mayde alle Rosy. 

She Pluckt ye Flovvre yt I Besought 

& Tossed to me wth Laughter, 
Thenne Fledde awaie across ye Fieldes 

Till I inne Haste Ranne After, 

& from ye Redde Rose of Her Lippes, 
Yt She hadde fayne Denyed me, 

Snatcht xx Kisses Softe & Sweete, 
& soe She Satisfyed me. 

30 



THISTLEDOWN, 



BONNY BEE. 

O LUSTY, brown, gold-belted bee, 
Thou that hast sought the honeyed cell 
Of amaranth or asphodel 
To suck thy fill of spicery — 

Thou happy vagabond, make haste 
And hide thee In the lotus-bloom, 
That droops upon her breast to see 

More ivory whiteness than its own. 

There is a palace faint with rich perfume 
Where, till the summer day is flown, 
Thou shalt hold revelry and taste 
Such nectar as must surfeit thee; 

31 



THISTLEDOWN. 



But If in thy sweet pilfering 
Thou feel her bosom thrill for me, 

Leave off thy feast, and on swift wing 
Bring the glad news, O bonny bee ! 



32 



THISTLEDO WN. 



SWEET SOUTH WIND. 

O SWEET South Wind, I saw you twist 
Your fingers in her soft brown hair- 
My eyes were on you when you kissed 
Her ruddy lips and all the rare 

Round loveliness of cheek and chin, 
And Envy twitched me then and there. 

For O, South Wind, if I had been 

So close beside and she so fair, 
Methinks I might have peeped within 

Her heart to mark me if she wear 
My name upon the naughty list 

Of those she destines to Despair. 

33 



THISTLEDOWN. 



COMMENT CHOISIRI 

AS she loitered by the roadside 
Where the sweet-briar grows, 
Betty plucked for her adorning 
One pale, pinky rose. 

In her shining hair she placed it 

With a careless erace, 
Where it drooped and nodded slyly 

Till it touched her face. 

And the burly bees approaching 
Hidden sweets to seek, 

Could not choose between two roses- 
One was Betty's cheek. 
34 



THISTLEDOWN. 



AT SEA. 

I LAUNCHED my boat, my little boat, 
With sails of gold and blue. 
Out on the sea whose mighty depth 
And breadth I never knew. 

1 watched it drift far out of sight 

With all the precious hoard 
Of love and peace and trust and joy 

That I for years had stored. 

I waited by the water-side 

For many a summer's day 
To meet and greet on its return 

The boat I sent away. 
37 



THISTLEDOWN, 

But though the West Is flecked with sails, 

And ships float up the bay, 
White-wlnged and laden with more wealth 

Than e'er they took away ; 

And though my eyes are dim with tears, 

And all my hope is gone, 
Still here upon the dreary shore 

I watch and wait alone — 

For my litde boat, my pretty boat, 

With sails of gold and blue, 
Still wanders on the wide, wide sea 

Whose breadth I never knew. 



THISTLEDOWN. 



MAID PHILIIS. 

MAID PhlUIs twined her yellow hair 
With gay gold daffodillies, 
And dropped a curtsey where she stood 
Among the meadow lilies. 

** Marry, good sir," she cried to me, 
" And mind you in your straying. 
Lest mischief trip you by the heels — 
For Love is out a-Maying. 

" An hour ago he went this way, 

And look how he bewitched me — 
He pulled me here, he pulled me there, 
And by the kirtle twitched me. 
89 



THISTLEDOWN . 

See, here's the rent the urchin made 

In this my gown of scarlet ! 
I'faith, I would I had him here — 

The saucy, smooth-tongued varlet!'* 

So she bewailed with tearful sighs, 
And bade me heed her warning, 

And so I hied me on my road. 
All on a sweet May morning. 

But when I reached the king's highway 
And looked where first I spied her, 

Lo ! Phillis sat and sewed her gown. 
With Love curled up beside her ! 



40 



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■"■■ ■ ^£ 



THISTLEDOWN. 

A RONDO OF YE HIE WYNDE. 

(After Herrick.) 

YE Wanton Wynde, yt Biteth Colde, 
Inne most Unseemlie Sporte & Bolde, 
Dothe Lifte A greavous Dust yt Flyes 
Inne Mistresse Marjorle her Eyes 
Soe She male nott ye Pathe Beholde. 

Yett inne ye Wale yt windlnge Lyes 
Ye Gallant sorelle Tryed likewyse, 
Wth Peevish Wordes wolde Gibe & Scolde, 
Ye Wanton Wynde. 



43 



THISTLEDOWN. 

Ye Frolick Breeze ys Pllghte Espyes 
& dothe A naughtie Pranke Devyse; 

& Mistresse Marjorie is Rolled 

Into ye Gallant's Claspe & Folde, 

Wheyre She alle Redde Berates wth SIghes 
Ye Wanton Wynde. 



44 



THISTLE D O WN. 



vj; vicTis. 

SHE hummed beneath her breath and dreamily 
Gay bits of ballad and romance, 
And, where her cheek just rounded creamily, 
A lurking dimple peeped askance. 

She swayed a fluffy fan provokingly 

Before the mischief of her eyes, 
And bade me recollect, half jokingly, 

Who tilts with Love Love-conquered dies. 

She said farewell, and said it pettishly, 

Yet viewed my broken heart with pride, 
And whispered to the end, coquettishly — 
"Love's fickle — and the world is wide." 

45 



THISTLED O WN. 



BALLADE OF MILADL 

SHE came, and the roses that lay on her breast 
Were ruddy and rich and sweet at the core, 
As they rose and fell in a tangled nest 
Of the lace on the Paris gown she wore ; 
And the gleam of its satin curled white on the floor 
Through the Court Quadrille, and a fragrance blew 
From a fan that a broidered legend bore — 
''U Amour fait beaucoup, mats r Argent fait tout.'' 

And lightly a tremulous pink caressed 
The clear pale curve of her cheek as o'er 

The rhythmic throb of the music's zest 

Crept the sound of an earnest voice and swore 



46 



THISTLE D O WN. 

A love that was life to her life — and more ; 
But the fan still fluttered its gay frou-frou, 

And flaunted its warning of gold-wrought lore — 
'' L Amour fait beaucoup, mats V Argent fait tout,'' 



Ah, then was Miladi put to her test ! 

And she, who had broken hearts by the score, 
Drooped lower the dusk of her lashes lest 

Her eyes should betray the passion that tore 

Through her turbulent thoughts ; but yet as before 
She laughed till Love was Despair as she flew 

Her fan with its cynical screed of yor^e — 
''L Amour fait beaucoup, mais r Argent fait tout'' 



49 



THISTLE D O WN, 

ENVOI. 
What though Miladi may sometimes deplore 
Her mauvais quart d'heure, as all of us do ? 
Is not she the Duchess of St. DInore ? 

'' L Amour fait beaucoup, mais r Argent fait tout ! 



50 



THISTLEDOWN. 

TO BETTY. 

(Villanelle.) 

WHEN Betty's dimples come and go, 
And laughter loiters in her eyes, 
Who cares which way the wind may blow ? 

For Cupid's sweet self is fain to strew 
His way with quaint enamored sighs 
When Betty's dimples come and go, 

And watching Beauty's piquant show, 

Youth, puffed with bold presuming, cries: 
Who cares which way the wind may blow?" 

61 



THISTLEDOWN. 

Enchanted Age becomes a beau, 

And pays his court with new emprise 
When Betty's dimples come and go, 

While Wisdom, if she but bestow 
One smile, in needless haste replies : 
" Who cares which way the wind may blow ? " 

But who is wise ? And who can know 

That Cruelty puts on disguise 
When Betty's dimples come and go ? 
Who cares which way the wind may blow? 



52 



THISTLEDOWN 



SERENADE. 

O HAPPY stars that lean all night 
Down from the stretch of purple skies, 
To keep my Heart's Beloved in sight, 
Where deep in maiden dreams she lies — 

Her dear hands folded in a prayer, 
And Sleep s dull touch upon her eyes. 

Shine out, and shed your hallowed light 
Around her rest in watchful wise, 

Till in the distant East the bright 
Gold radiance of the dawn shall rise 

To bring her forth, that earth may wear 
Once more the joys of Paradise! 



53 



THISTLED O WN. 



RONDEAUX. 

IN gay rondeaux the poet sends 
Blithe messages to absent friends, 
Twisting his jest and quaint conceit 
Till in a deftly-measured beat 
His merriment with music blends. 

The lover eagerly expends 
The skill that vivid passion lends 
To frame the vows his lips repeat 
In gay rondeaux. 

Ah me ! I would that those who greet 
These bits of verse as indiscreet, 
54 



THISTLEDOWN. 



Could know that genius which pretends 
To loftier lyrics often ends 
With matching rhymes and moulding feet 
In gay rondeaux. 



55 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







